MICK McCarthy attached no blame to Karl Henry and Jody Craddock after Wolves Carling Cup penalty exit - but suggested his team have not yet found their cutting edge.

Henry and Craddock, both excellent so far this season, missed the decisive kicks which would have first won, or then kept, Wolves in the tie after Carl Ikeme, in only his second senior start for the Molineux men, had saved from Alex Bailey.

"It's always cruel to lose on penalties but it looked like we were going to win it when Karl stepped up," said McCarthy.

"I think it was a case of the keeper making a good save rather than it being a bad miss.

"Then poor old Jody, who I think has been fantastic in all the games and terrific again tonight, has missed as well.

"It just seems to happen that way when arguably the man of the match misses the penalty. But I thought Carl Ikeme had a good game which highlighted to me I've got another terrific keeper which is a real positive."

Whilst also impressed in general with his entire back five there were aspects of the performance McCarthy was not so happy with, notably Wolves failure to overly exert the Chesterfield back-line.

Four goals in five games tells its own story, but the manager is expecting more ups and downs given the dramatic changes of recent weeks, adding: "The game probably told me more about what we haven't got and can't do than what we have got and can do.

"I think the season so far has gone up and down, good results followed by disappointments, and it may just be like that.

"Overall in the performance I wasn't completely happy because despite the changes I still think the team out there was still capable of winning the game.

"I think they caused us more problems than we caused them. Whether it was Craig Davies or TF in the first half, or JJ and Leon in the second and extra time, we weren't as much of a threat as they were.

"If we want to be playing in the Championship those lads should be posing more of a threat."

Wolves meanwhile are preparing to welcome defender Charlie Mulgrew to the squad from Celtic, as the deal which sees the long-serving Lee Naylor depart in the opposite direction is rubber-stamped over the next 24 hours.

"Charlie is a good footballer, a 6ft 3in left back come left sided centre back which will help us after losing Nayls," said McCarthy.